Track by Track Album Review: Little Mix - 'LM5'

Little Mix – comprising of members Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards – recently released their fifth studio album ‘LM5.’

With a recurring theme of empowerment throughout each of the tracks, which are additionally filled with exceptional harmonies and vocals, the girl group quartet have once again proved that they still have ‘The X Factor,’ which saw them win the show back in 2011.

Here at CelebMix, we have reviewed ‘LM5.’ Make sure you keep reading to check out our review!

The album kicks off with ‘The National Manthem,’ a thirty-second track which encapsulates the quartet’s captivating vocals. Focusing mainly on an acapella sound, ‘The National Manthem’ truly gives listeners a preview of what can be expected throughout the remainder of the album, which focuses on female empowerment.

‘Woman Like Me’ (featuring Nicki Minaj) was the lead single to be released from their fifth studio album. We fell in love with this track right from when we first heard it and it was great to see the band collaborating with Nicki Minaj – a collaboration they’ve always wanted! Nicki Minaj’s rapping skills gives the track that extra edge, in conjunction with their fantastic vocals.

‘Think About Us’ is the third fierce track from the album. It is inevitably catchy and the girls recently performed this track on ‘The Graham Norton Show.’ Each member’s vocals are showcased. In particular, the bridge section of the track – ‘Oh-na-na-na-na, do you think about us?’ – will no doubt have you singing along!

‘Strip’ (featuring Sharaya J) is a song about the band embracing confidence and loving their bodies. When speaking about the track, member Jesy said: ‘We’re talking about stuff we’ve wanted to speak about for ages. We’ve all suffered from body confidence and negative comments and up until now, we didn’t really have a song we felt addressed everything we needed to.’ Little Mix recently released an equally empowering music video for the track, featuring the ‘Mummy Mixers’, along with numerous other beautiful females.

‘Monster In Me’ has a chilling and haunting but unique vibe throughout. This track speaks about bringing out the negative sides – ‘the monster’ – of each other in a relationship. Their vocals are once again fantastic and the harmonies throughout the track are a stand-out, considering the relatively stripped back nature of this track.

‘Joan of Arc’ was also unveiled prior to the album’s release. This is another song about confidence and the clever use of lyrics – including ‘I’m stanning myself’ – make this track another of our favourites on the album! The chorus of this track has a fantastic beat and encourages independence, not relying on a man to validate worth.

‘Love A Girl Right’ is the ultimate anthem for boys treating girls right! The track speaks about the mistreatment of girls when they are cheated on in a relationship and the importance of loving a girl right. The track has an upbeat nature throughout and the message conveyed through this track is extremely powerful for female listeners of this album.

‘American Boy’ is another super catchy track! The track almost takes on a new dimensional sound, showing the continued growth of Little Mix. Each new album represents a continued mature sound for Jesy, Perrie, Jade and Leigh-Anne. The one thing we want to know though: who is the American Boy?

‘Told You So’ has a guitar-focused, stripped back nature throughout, with the lyrics showing just how important it is to have friends when going through a break-up. Lyrically, this track emphasises the importance of friendship and reflecting on the lessons learned in the relationship.

‘Wasabi’ has definitely got some similarities to ‘Strip,’ with the lyrics conveying how the girls have ignored what is written about them in the media, such as what they wear, solo careers and the future of the band. The track has an upbeat and catchy nature. We love this track and the fresh sound it brings!

The next track on the album is ‘More Than Words’ (featuring Kamille). It is really interesting hearing Kamille on the track! The lyrics show the power of love for someone and Little Mix’s and Kamille’s vocals both fit perfectly together. They recently released a music video for this track, which you can watch below.

‘Motivate’ will have you dancing along right from the first beat of the track! The track continues to build and maintains its momentum throughout the chorus. ‘Motivate’ has some serious dance vibes, which we love! There is a nice ‘wind down’ nearing the end of the track, which Jesy is leading – we can’t wait to hear this performed live!

‘Notice’ has a somewhat dark sound to it, but also highlighting their vocals once again. The lyrics convey the sense of giving up in a relationship, whereby the other person in the relationship doesn’t seem to care and they don’t notice the small things, with the frustration about this conveyed through the lyrics.

‘The Cure’ is quite possibly one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful tracks on the album, coupled with a stripped back version of the track, which appears on the Deluxe version of the album. This track will have a different meaning to each listener, but ultimately conveys how much the girls’ lives have changed since winning ‘The X Factor’ back in 2011.

‘Forget You Not’ is all about trying to move on from a relationship and trying to forget a person who played such a huge part in your life, coming out as a better person from the relationship. Their vocals once again all work exceptionally well together and in particular, Leigh-Anne’s vocals in this track stand out.

‘Woman’s World’ sees Little Mix addressing an important issue in society today: gender inequality. This is an empowering track and highlights the importance of change regarding this important social issue, which the band tackle with dignity and respect. Empowerment remains a key theme throughout the album – reflected in this track.

‘Only You’ is the last track to be featured on the album. The track, which features trio Cheat Codes, was released as a single in June of this year and describes the strong feelings involved in a relationship. The track is uptempo throughout and each band’s vocals merge well when put together. What a perfect way to end the album!

If you haven’t already, you can purchase ‘LM5’ by clicking here. The album can also be streamed on Spotify through the link below. Additionally, the album is available to purchase through other responsible music purchasing outlets.

Do you love ‘LM5’ as much as we do here at CelebMix? What is your favourite song on the album? Make sure you tweet us and let us know: @CelebMix.

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